Eibach pro kit Dead coil cutting on ST 170 (SVTY

[cossieboy]

Hi guys , i have ano Eibach pro kit 20 25mm drop on my focus st 170 , the front is perfect , the rear is still 4x4 status , i have removed the rubber insulators where the spring sits on but still not happy , whats your views on cutting dead coils with regards to ride quality , handling , tyre wear etc , ps. The front has half a finger space between the tyre and the fender and the rear has 2 and a half finger space , i jus wanna get the back closer to the front height , if you agree on cutting dead coils ,will cutting of one coil be sufficient .Many thanks

[Sponsor]

[Geezer]

A dead coil is just that....dead. It does nothing from a spring oscillation point of view. It only impacts ride height by the diameter of the wire used. So if the dead coil is 1/2 in diameter (as an example) cutting a full coil will reduce height by that amount. Using this example, to reduce height 1.5 inches you'd have to cut 3 full dead coils. I don't know if you have that many dead coils, but it's something to keep in mind. The dead coils can also play an important roll of keeping the spring seated especially under rebound conditions (most dead coils are only dead under load, when free (aka free length) there's usually some space between each coil). People have cut springs and literally seen them fall out when the suspension becomes unloaded (e.g. going over a hill) due to a lack of adequate length to hold them in.

[felixthecat]

Grab your stock coils & cut 1.5 coils off & then install them. I had the frpp's K/W springs & the rear sat up higher, so I cut 1.5 coils out of the oems & that fixed the height issue.

[cossieboy]

Bump . Guys how about a little help here?

[felixthecat]

Originally Posted by cossieboy

Bump . Guys how about a little help here?

Did you not read what Greezer & I replied in your thread?^^^

[Geezer]

What more are you looking for? There is no definitive yes or no answer to your question. There are tradeoffs and impacts that must be considered. If you truly want to do this correctly you should get a set of fully adjustable coilover springs and shocks. They allow for "fine" tuning without the fear of springs clanking around in their seats and mounts.

[thenorm]

Originally Posted by Geezer

The dead coils can also play an important roll of keeping the spring seated especially under rebound conditions (most dead coils are only dead under load, when free (aka free length) there's usually some space between each coil). People have cut springs and literally seen them fall out when the suspension becomes unloaded (e.g. going over a hill) due to a lack of adequate length to hold them in.

along these lines. are you using lowering shocks, or oem. OEM shocks are too long, will droop too much, and you spring may fall out. many aftermarket shocks matched to lowering springs are them selves shorter.

[felixthecat]

Originally Posted by thenorm

along these lines. are you using lowering shocks, or oem. OEM shocks are too long, will droop too much, and you spring may fall out. many aftermarket shocks matched to lowering springs are them selves shorter.

Very good point. ^^^^^^^^^^ Thats why its best to go w/ matched dampers w/ lowering springs.

[ChrisRobin]

I say try with a dead coil or two and see how it sits. Trial and error

[cossieboy]

Thanks guys